Late inning heroics from Ozzie Albies and the continued Braves brilliance from Jesse Chavez (check chart below…how is he doing it?) helped the Braves secure first of the 3, and Cliff might’ve given us the recap of the year! Tonight’s pitching matchup, Spencer Schwellybelly vs. Casey Mize will start at 6:20 CT/7:20 ET. No roster moves today so the game thread will be short and sweet.
How Does Jesse Chavez Keep Doing This?
Also, here’s a piece from Peanut on Jesse Chavez that dropped last night.
Kelenic Killing It
On May 19th, Jarred Kelenic bottomed out at .630 OPS. And it wasn’t like he was unlucky. He just wasn’t hitting and was racking up the strikeouts. However, in the 20 games that followed, Kelenic has been incredible, carrying an .892 OPS in 80 PAs. This past offseason, the Braves paid a pretty penny (~$17MM) to grab Kelenic, and, if recent trends continue, Kelenic will be worth it. His season OPS sits at .740 right now. If upward trends continue, he’ll be at .800 before the All Star Break.
Braves Lineup
Braves Minor Leaguers to Keep Eyes on
Gwinnett Stripers
Mississippi Braves
Rome Emperors
- E.J. Exposito (this guy is coming out of nowhere)
- Lucas Braun
Augusta Greenjackets
Jesse Chavez will probably get a MiLB deal in 2025, so you can watch out for him too.
Isn’t there anyone who thinks Brian Anderson might be better than Adam Duvall?
Duvall his LHP really well this year. He just needs a platoon partner.
I would think Eddie Gaedel could hit righties better than Duvall. Could Anderson hit righties?
What if – stay with me here – what if Jarred Kelenic is good?
Just dropped in to say how amazing a universe is where you can watch the Braves at the Seoul airport at 9 am.
Hope you had some good Korean beef on your journey!
Schwellenbach has looked pretty strong. Really happy for him.
Willie died.
Rest in greatness, Mr. Mays.
Nacho is 2-4 tonight with another homer and a double. At what point does he get the call to replace Arcia? Can he handle shortstop defensively?
Arcia certainly isn’t seeing the ball well. He looks overmatched in a lot of at bats lately
좋은 승리 !!!
I’ve been in Pensacola al day and just got back from a Double A games. Glad to see we won, hate it that Mays passed, and I’ll get a recap up tomorrow.
Don’t look now, but the Mets and Nats are playing really well. Mets have won 7 in a row and Nats won 8 of 9 before losing tonight. This could end up being a really competitive division. I think the Phillies will fall back to earth eventually and the Marlins will be whipping boys. I think the Nats will probably drop off, but the Mets may be a wildcard contender at the end of the year.
Recap will come later today. I’ll be driving back from my trip.
Orlando Arcia’s first half of 2023 was a nigh-miraculous outlier. His second half of 2023 and his first half of 2024 are more in line with his career norms. Betting on a player to go from around replacement level to above average at 30 is like to end in failure. Regression is an unforgiving mistress. He is a useful utility player, and it was fun when we thought we might have an All Star SS for $2 million, but we got what we paid for–a utility infielder.
I won’t be suprised to see Nacho if he can field the position. He only needs to be a little above replacement. I would love to buy low on Bo Bichette, but it’s probably not gonna happen.
I’d be totally up to take a punt on Bichette. (Also, this guy seems utterly cooked, but I wouldn’t be shocked if we wind up with Tim Anderson, who probably could be had for nothing, who grew up in Tuscaloosa and who I’m sure the Braves have scouted since high school. Not saying that’s a good thing, just saying.)
My biggest takeaway from the Hurston Waldrep experience is I do not want the Braves to keep panic-promoting their prospects. Nacho is our top hitting prospect mostly by virtue of there not being anyone else, due to trades, promotion, and attrition. He has spent a grand total of 53 games above High-A and had a sub .700 OPS in Double-A this year.
So, I really dislike the idea of promoting him right now. First, I’m highly skeptical that he is better than Orlando Arcia right now, with his lack of experience and his lack of exceptional performance in that short time in the high minors. Second, I’m highly concerned about the effect on his overall development of a too-early promotion, considering the strong odds that he would come up and miserably struggle at the plate. I don’t see anything in his profile that makes it seem like he’s a much better bet to thrive in the majors right now than the back of his baseball card would suggest – his minor league ISO is .101, and he’s a 5’11” middle infielder. He’s liable to get the bat knocked out of his hands right now.
Promoting Nacho feels to me like a move with an extremely high risk relative to a very slight potential reward.
Yes, I agree it would be best for him to develop all season (and maybe next!), but won’t surprise me if the Braves do exactly what you fear. This team has no qualms about moving guys up from AA if they think they can contribute tomorrow. May not be the best approach, but it’s their history
I will take Arcias defense for 2 million bucks, we need to find another OF to help out and that is usually one of the cheapest places to upgrade.
Nacho needs plenty more ABs in the minors.
It’s still a good deal for what we pay him. He’s a 1.5-2 win player on defense, but you can only afford so many black holes in the lineup